I was drawn to this book because it's alternate history, but it's much more than that. Three Bullets is set in a world of early 1960's USA where the plot to assassinate President Kennedy in Dallas failed. The, now infamous, date of 11th November 1963 and the man Lee Harvey Oswald hold no significance. We follow Mitchell as he investigates his ex-girlfriend's apparent suicide; Jean was a journalist who seems to be investigating something to do with JFK himself. This book is crime fiction, political thriller, with touch of a love story.
I was worried that the story revolved around US politics and that it would be a bit dry and preachy. Luckily, it is neither. The author doesn't even allude to the current political climate in the US, which I was happily surprised at! I was also concerned that i would struggle to understand what was going on if the story revolved around the American political system, but the story is woven around the politics and it works really well as a novel. There is a theme of "What if?" in the novel; the obvious one being "What if JFK had lived through that fateful day in Dallas?". But we're also presented with other questions: "What if Jackie had married Bobby Kennedy instead?" or "What if Mitch hadn't gone to Korea?".
Mitch and Jean's relationship is explored in an effective way. We look back as their doomed romance unfolds, and Ellory explores the motivation, emotions, and heartbreak, that are within a relationship. It's a good way to keep the story grounded and on a human scale...an alternate history of such a major event could have been too big to handle, but the exploration into Jean and Mitch's history means it maintains the humanity. The love letters were a nice touch and the reveal towards the end was very clever and meant our perceptions of them changed.
This novel has a very smart mix of real people and events, and fictional characters and fictional events. There are a few threads that I'm sure are based on theories and suspicions about JFK, but they written about in a clear and concise way that adds to the story, instead of the sounding like the ramblings of a conspiracy fanatic. I loved the reveal near the end where we learn what this has really been about. Overall, the ending was both good storytelling and realistic.

Mitch and Jean were an item; engaged and heading for a life together until early in the 1950's Mitch, a photo journalist made the decision to head off to Korea. It was a mistake, one that cost him his relationship with Jean and when he returned 4 months later, his attempts to rekindle their romance were met with rejection, letters remained unanswered and he had to accept she was no longer part of his life. Nobody was more surprised than him when on Independence day 1964, over a decade later he received a phone call from her mother telling him that Jean had taken her own life. But things don't quite add up, her mother claims its a lie, why are the police on the door of her apartment, who are the people who falsely claimed to be colleagues of hers and removed all her papers, why had investigative journalist Jean been in Dallas and what did current President John F Kennedy have to do with it?

Retelling history as it may have come to pass if those fatal shots fired on 22 Nov 1963 hadn't happened, this book is part fiction, part fact. Set in a period of history that still raises a lot of questions that theme is cleverly followed through in this latest book by RJ Ellory.

Three Bullets is not just a fictional account of a journalists obsession with uncovering the truth about what happened to the woman he loved, its also a well researched and well written journey into the dark side of the powerful Kennedy Administration.

As his suspicion that something is very definitely not right about Jeans death grows Mitch finds himself obsessed with seeking out the truth. This book had me reading long into the night as I followed Mitch on his journey, worried that he may himself end up in the crosshairs and become another statistic in the political cover ups.

An interesting read, totally recommended for anyone interested in the Kennedy era - from start to finish this one had me engrossed and unable to put it down. One of those books that you'll remember reading.

My thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy for review purposes.

I have always thought that RJ Ellory was an exceptional thriller writer who has never received the acclaim he rightfully deserves.

Hopefully things will change and Three Bullets is an exceptionally clever, original, well thought through and plotted book which, it goes without saying, is also beautifully written.

I will not reveal the plot but just imagine if JFK had not been assassinated and what might have happened in that instance?

Read it and find out for yourself and you really will not be disappointed!